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ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 2008-330

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The Commission received an application by Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership and Bell Canada (collectively, Bell Canada et al.), dated 9 October 2008, seeking the Commission's ratification of the charging of certain Centrex rates by Bell Canada et al. from 1 September to 7 October 2008, otherwise than in accordance with an approved tariff. In support of their request, Bell Canada et al. noted that the revised tariff pages associated with these Centrex items had not been issued at the time the new rates were implemented due to an administrative oversight. Bell Canada et al. submitted that they issued the requisite tariff pages on 7 October 2008, as soon as they first became aware of the oversight.

2.

As background, Bell Canada et al. noted that they had raised the following Centrex rate items by five percent on 1 September 2008:

Referencing Rate ranges for services other than voice over Internet Protocol services, Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-75, 23 November 2006 (Telecom Decision 2006-75), Bell Canada et al. stated that there is no requirement to file a tariff application and obtain Commission approval for such rate changes. Bell Canada et al. also indicated that they had provided advance notice to affected customers of these price changes in short informational messages on their bills, and that their billing systems were updated to reflect these changes, effective 1 September 2008.

4.

The Commission received no comments regarding this application. The public record of this proceeding, which closed on 8 November 2008, is available on the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca under "Public Proceedings."

Commission's analysis and determinations

5.

The Commission notes that subsection 25(4) of the Telecommunications Act stipulates that the Commission may ratify the charging of a rate by a Canadian carrier otherwise than in accordance with a tariff approved by the Commission if it is satisfied that the rate was charged because of an error or other circumstance that warrants the ratification.

6.

The Commission notes that Bell Canada et al. have met the requirements set out in Telecom Decision 2006-75 for the implementation of the above-noted rate increases, with the exception of the issuance of the tariff pages. The Commission also notes that Bell Canada et al. informed the affected customers with up to two months advance notice of the effective date of the price changes and made changes to the billing system to implement the rate changes on that date. Further, the Commission accepts Bell Canada et al.'s assertion that the charging of the new rates for the Centrex services during the period of time that the tariff pages were not updated was the result of an administrative error.

7.

In light of the above, the Commission ratifies the charging of the increased rates for the above-noted Centrex services for the period of 1 September to 7 October 2008.

Secretary General

This document is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF format or in HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca